Novak Djokovic managed to claim an eighth Australian Open title earlier this month, signalling that 2020 looks like being another great year for the Serb.
The win was also enough to regain the world number one spot from Rafael Nadal, and that is a position he is sure to want to cement. In fact, he has come out and just plainly said as much.
“The circumstances turned out to be such that Nadal fell out in the quarterfinals [of the Australian Open] and everything lined-up, now everything is in my hands,” Djokovic told the Serbian press.
“Neither Nadal nor I have too many points to defend to Roland Garros.
“I hope for a successful season on hardcourts, especially in Indian Wells and Miami, where I have had a lot of success in my career
“But I have not recorded very good results in the last few years, so I have a chance to pick up some more points ”.
Djokovic’s plan, therefore, appears clear – and it will largely be dictated by what Nadal’s plans are given he plans on staying ahead of him in the rankings.
The Serb is THE hardcourt powerhouse in the world, so the Sunshine Double of Indian Wells and the Miami Open will be of paramount importance to him.
We can also expect Djokovic to play a full clay-court season too, as Nadal will obviously be a force in that period of the season. Nadal also dropped more points than you’d expect from the clay season last year, losing out in the semi-finals in both Madrid and Monte-Carlo.
Therefore, Djokovic will almost certainly task himself with not only denying Nadal those points again, but actually taking more for himself to take a stranglehold on the rankings.
The second half of the season, schedule-wise, is tougher to predict, but he has already said he wants to play the Olympics, so expect him to find a break at some point to avoid burnout before the US Open and ATP Finals.
JANUARY & FEBRUARY
Qatar Open (January 6 – 11)
Australian Open (January 20 – February 2)
MARCH
BNP Paribas Open (March 9 – 22)
Miami Open (March 25 – April 5)
APRIL
Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (April 13 – 19)
MAY & JUNE
Mutua Madrid Open (May 4 – 10)
Internazionali BNL d’Italia (May 11 – 17)
Roland Garros (May 24 – June 7)
JULY
Wimbledon (June 29 – July 12)
Olympics (July 24 – August 9)
AUGUST & SEPTEMBER
Western and Southern Open (August 15 – 23)
US Open (August 31 – September 13)
OCTOBER
Japan Open (October 5 – 11)
Rolex Shanghai Masters (October 11 – 18)
NOVEMBER
Rolex Paris Masters (November 2 – 8)
Watch: When Novak Djokovic Made a Ball Boy’s Day
Ball boys and girls in tennis work pretty hard throughout a match, running around tirelessly to make sure all that the players have to do is play. So it’s a heartwarming sight to see when a player and a ball boy/girl have funny interactions. Especially if the player is Novak Djokovic.
In the early years of his career, Djokovic was known to be something of an imp. He was pretty good at mimicking other players on Tour, men and women. In the previous decade, he more or less, stopped it and became much more serious in his demeanor. But he still gave us many funny interactions with the ball boys and girls.
Novak Djokovic and ball boy share an umbrella and a drink
One incident that stands out happened during the 2014 Roland Garros. Djokovic was playing in the very first round of the Grand Slam. He was up against Joao Sousa, but rain interrupted the play. Roland Garros will feature a roof on the Philippe-Chatrier court from 2020 onward. If it were already in place in 2014, we would have missed this nice little moment between Novak and a ball boy.
As the rain stopped play, Djokovic wet to his bench as a ball boy appeared with an umbrella over the player. The Serb cleared up his bench, removing one of his bags and bottles to make room. He then invited the lucky ball boy to sit with him.
Slightly hesitant and unsure what was going on, the ball boy did finally sit beside Novak. Djokovic even made the ball boy comfortable by taking his umbrella into his own hands to protect both of them from rain. He gave his racquet to the boy instead and even encouraged the crowd to cheer for the young boy. Even as they soaked in the rain, the crowd was happy to acknowledge this moment.
Djokovic and the boy had a nice chat too and both looked ready to settle on the bench for a nice long talk. The Serbian took a bottle of Perrier and handed it to the boy to drink too. Both clinked their bottles and sat back drinking and chatting away to glory.
Just then the umpire called for play to resume as the rain had stopped.
A day the boy will likely never forget in his life. He probably wishes the rain had gone on a bit longer.
Novak Djokovic has a habit of showing his human side on the tennis courts. Be it during an intense match or when something like this occurs.
This is far from his first fun incident with a ball boy or girl. He has often played with them or even done their jobs on the courts.
